SOLACE SABAH is an addiction treatment retreat located on the beautiful island of Borneo in Malaysia. We employ evidence based treatment practices for addiction recovery.

Dry Drunk Syndrome: What is it?

October 1, 2016

Solace Sabah

Dry drunk is a
condition wherein someone who has been sober from either alcohol, drugs, or
other addictions are no longer enthused by their recovery. It was a phrase
first coined by AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) to describe people who were no longer
“drinking” but acted so negatively that being drunk was a better option than
living sober. There are some discussions online that state it is not a syndrome
as such, but a discriminatory means to scold or abuse people who are not committed
to a recovery program. [1]

In some circles,
this may be true, yet the condition still pervades those in recovery and is a
concern for those in early sobriety as this is when the symptoms of this
phenomena occur most acutely. Usually, after having experienced the highs of
being sober, living life free from the consequences of addiction; life will
come to challenge the addict in recovery. A proper recovery program filled with
support, therapy, and conviction will be able to override the negativities
faced at these trying times.

Yet, many addicts
in early sobriety will disregard the tools and harp back to their original
addictive personality, which is still alive in spite of recovery. The addiction
may be gone, but the personality, which drove it is still alive and well. The
danger is that once it is chosen as a way of life, relapse is inevitable unless
tools of recovery are used to intervene. Hence, the “Dry Drunk Syndrome” may
not be a medically certifiable condition, but its pervasiveness in early
recovery entitles it to much serious consideration by addicts and therapists
alike!

Symptoms of “Dry Drunkenness”

To be “dry drunk”
and to be in “white-knuckle” sobriety is more or less the same thing. They are
both a condition of dis-ease with recovery. Below are some examples of how this
condition shows itself among addicts in recovery:

i) Anger at recovery: Addicts who are “white-knuckling” their
sobriety will be unable to resolve their anger issues. They will start to blame
everyone for their misery in not being able to use/drink like others.
Resentments will pile up finding fault in every individual or scenario in life
that is remotely challenging. They will either persecute others or see
themselves as victims, remembering every single offence to justify their anger.
The only thing that they are blind towards is their own involvement in each
resentment. At the very core of this anger is their inability to use/drink and
get away with it scot-free unlike the days of old.

ii) Impulsivity: “Dry drunks” are an impulsive lot. They do
not think twice about doing things that may be of danger to themselves or
others. They follow their own intuition and gut feelings around issues that
need proper planning and support. For instance, the “dry drunk” who decides to go
with friends for a pub lunch without having consulted his/her sponsor
beforehand. Such slippery behaviors could result in a relapse if not properly
monitored by a third party. Yet, for “dry drunks”, the right to own their own
lives puts owning their recovery at risk!

iii) Magical Thinking: Addicts who are “dry drunk” may think that
attempting an element of their previous lives may not be harmful seeing that
they’ve had a considerable period of sobriety. For instance, the gambler who
decides to put on a bet after twenty years of sobriety finds him/herself right
back in the unmanageability of active addiction. It is “magical” to assume that
the length of time spent sober makes one impervious to the dangers of
addiction. If anything, relapses usually speed the process of making the
addiction much more severe and acute – to an extent that some do not return
from it!

iv) Euphoric Recall: It simply means the “happy remembering” of
active addiction. Addicts who are “dry drunk” will have a positive bias towards
active addiction. They only remember how strong, smart, fun, and pleasurable
active addiction made their lives. They refuse to recall the “bad
times/dysphoria”. They are blind to all the legal, financial, health, and
social problems, which arose out of addiction. This is why addicts need to keep
a mental note of what can go wrong in active addiction to stave such recall
from ruining the best lives they can live in recovery.

v) Negativity: Dry drunks are going to be negative as long
as they are in recovery, which is why “dry drunkenness” is a serious problem
that inevitably leads to relapse. Such negativity could mean anything from
being angry all the time and having a negative view on everything, to being
unproductive. If recovery doesn’t replace the high of addiction, it is logical
to assume that addicts will find something that will bring them back to it!

vi) Isolation: Dry drunks love to exhibit difference as a means to
isolate. They would say that they are different from others and are therefore
in need of special treatment. They want people to either pity them or leave
them alone, but never challenge them to live a better life than the one
attempted. One way to ensure that nobody challenges them is to isolate from
others and not be a part of life as it is. Hence, isolation is the hallmark of
“dry drunk” behavior as it replicates the addictive personality to a tee.

Solutions to “Dry Drunkenness”

We are not in the
business of giving you or your loved symptoms without having a bag of solutions
to overcome them. That would be pointless and feed the argument that this is
not such an important issue in early recovery. First of all, if you or your
loved one portray such signs as listed above, see them as warning signs that a
relapse is nearing and act contrarily to the above. For instance, if a bout of
“euphoric recall” has consumed your moment in sobriety, watch the urge, accept
it, and then do something constructive with it such as working out at the gym
as an example. Below are solutions to fix this state of dissatisfied recovery
known as “dry drunkenness”:

a)
Talking with others - Having a good chat with someone else has the
power to take whatever that is bothering you or your loved one away. The
conversation could focus on the problem at hand and then shift to something
pleasant. The whole idea is to pass the moment that is challenging, by focusing
on an equally stimulating activity.

b)
Meetings – Be it 12-steps, SMART recovery, or other support
group meetings that focus on the daily trials of living sober; attending
meetings is a good way to offload difficult emotions through sharing as well as
listening to the hope of those who have gone through difficulties and have
succeeded in recovery regardless.

c)
Therapies – In treatment, you or your loved one will be exposed
to learning various therapies, which will help you or your loved one cope with
life as it stands. Be it CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectic
Behavioral Therapy), or ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy); application of
these therapies to question and dig out the issues that are bothering you or
your loved one in the here and now; will go a long way to ensuring the peace of
mind necessary for continual growth.

d)
Living a structured and meaningful life – Addiction was an attempt to find meaning
in chemicals or addictive behaviors. If sobriety is followed by apathy and
entropy; then it is no wonder, one would seek addiction to re-liven life.
However, if a life in recovery can be more meaningful and structured in such a
way as to bring one closer to inherent values and goals; then, undoubtedly the
meaningless life of active addiction will pale to what’s at hand! Living in
structure also provides a platform for managing one’s days so as not to leave
it idle.

e)
Take responsibility for one’s life – We don’t have the power to take
responsibility for what happened during active addiction for we were in the
grip of an uncontrollable illness. However, that does not justify our
helplessness in recovery. In turn, we are responsible for our actions,
behaviors, and attitudes in recovery just in the same way that it is the
responsibility of every patient to take their medication. Taking responsibility
removes us from being victims of fate. We can be assertive about our needs and
wary of our wants and desires, whilst watching our attitudes and behaviors
mindfully so that it does not compromise our recovery process. We may be
powerless over everything that does not constitute ourselves, but we have
tremendous power over ourselves.

Where Can I Start?

If you or your
loved one are experiencing a slip in the program of recovery, seek help with us
at Solace Sabah. Even if you’ve been in treatment before, it may be due time to
get a top-up or re-fill treatment to maintain certain loose knots in you or
your loved one’s program. Here, we will teach and remind you or your loved one
what is at stake and why change is needed at each turn or challenge that life
throws in recovery. We will teach you or your loved one that sobriety and
recovery are life-long processes, which need fine-tuning at times to work.

Dry-drunkenness is
just a sign that one has resigned to a life unworthy of living; and the
questions that needs asking herein – what is it about this new life that can be
worth living? What opportunities do I have now that I’m sober? Who do I want to
be? What is stopping me from reaching my true potential? What are the solutions
to those blockages in life? And finally: am I living for life or is life living
for me? If the answer to the last question is the former, then, you are assured
of being on the way to a spectacular future!